Report highlights B.C.’s youth employment struggle

The B.C. Business Council says the province has the worst youth unemployment rate in Canada.

The Business Council of British Columbia has released a report indicating that when the pandemic is excluded—youth unemployment is now at 14 per cent—a level not seen since the financial crisis.

“The share of young people that are either working or looking for jobs—so those participating in the labour market, has fallen to its lowest level since 2002,” said BCBC director of policy Jairo Yunis during an interview with CTV News on Monday. “We went from having the third highest labour force participation rate for young people in Canada to the lowest.”

At a national level, youth unemployment has trended upward—from 9.4 per cent in March 2023, to 14.3 per cent in April of this year.

That 14 percent puts B.C. virtually in line with the national average, but B.C.’s jobs minister acknowledges more needs to be done.

“We are aligned with the national average for unemployment for youth,” Jobs and Economic Growth Minister Ravi Kahlon told CTV News. “We want to see that number come down. And that’s why we continue to make investments in trades training opportunities, because we know there’s employment opportunities.”

Kahlon said he’s hopeful the federal government reducing use of the temporary foreign worker program following the advocacy of some provinces, including B.C., also helps youth employment.

But the B.C. Conservatives argue more could be done.

“This business council report reaffirms a lot of what we’ve been seeing over the last numbers of years, which is a very scary picture for youth employment in British Columbia,” said Gavin Dew, the Conservative critic for jobs and economic development.

Dew referenced a recent report from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business which pointed out B.C. is just one of three provinces which provides no financial incentives for small businesses to hire youth.

In some cases, other provinces provide incentives like wage subsidies or refundable tax credits.

Regardless of the policy debate—with the summer school break approaching—young job seekers will be hoping employers are willing to give them a chance—even in a challenging economy.